Ad Disclosure
Dantonio pleased with Lewerke’s performance, clutch plays in Michigan State win
Published:
In close games, it usually pays off to have a veteran quarterback under center. That was especially true in Michigan State’s 40-31 win over Indiana on Saturday. Mark Dantonio knows it, too.
When the Spartans needed to make some big plays late in the game, Lewerke pulled through. With the game knotted a 31-31 late in the fourth quarter, Lewerke found Darrell Stewart 41 yards down the field for a big play to get into Indiana territory. On the next play, Lewerke picked up 30 yards on a run to get to the IU 1-yard line.
Those two plays set up a game-winning field goal by Matt Coghlin. The extra six points came on a fumble recovery in the end zone as time expired.
After the game, Dantonio had plenty of praise for his senior quarterback. The head coach commended Lewerke for making big plays in the winning moments. He also said that Lewerke’s experience in these situations was huge down the stretch.
Below are some of Dantonio’s post-game comments, as posted by Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press.
Dantonio said Lewerke came in the huddle after MSU fell behind and said, "Hey, this is fun." Says his QB made all the big plays to get the win.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) September 28, 2019
Dantonio says he thought Lewerke was tackled at the 1, though Lewerke said before he tried to go down because he didn't know if he was supposed to score at the end. "We'll go with what he said there," Dantonio says.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) September 29, 2019
Dantonio on 2-minute drill: "We work on it a lot," and having a senior QB in Lewerke who understands what he needs to do allows him to "operate in that context. I think you've seen that over and over."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) September 29, 2019
Lewerke finished the afternoon completing 18-of-36 yards for 300 yards and three touchdowns. He also ended the game as the team’s leading rusher, totaling 78 yards on 12 carries.
Michigan State improved to 4-1 on the season with the win and is 2-0 in B1G play with victories over Northwestern and Indiana. Next week, the Spartans take on Ohio State in Columbus.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB